Well, it's been confirmed that director Len Wiseman (Die Hard 4.0) is going to helm the remake of John Carpenter's 80s classic Escape From New York.
The original's plot will be retained, wherein anti-hero Snake Plissken is injected with a poison and told he'll be given the antidote after he rescues the U.S President from New York City, which is now a maximum security prison.
Kurt Russell starred as Snake in the original, as well as the ill-received sequel Escape From L.A in 1997. Gerard Butler (300) is hotly tipped to takeover from Russell for Wiseman's film.
Ain't It Cool News recently reviewed the script to Wiseman's remake, giving it a very favourable critique. All the essential elements are there; but either improved, updated, or expanded upon (we actually see the Air Force One crash in NYC, something the original's budget coudn't stretch to.)
I really like Escape From New York, but I've always had problems with it. Kurt Russell was great, the nihilistic tone is great, Carpenter's score is iconic and the premise is wonderful pulp sci-fi... but it just begins to lose momentum half-way through. I actually grow bored once Isaac Hayes turns up as The Duke, and the finale always disappointed me.
So, I actually think a remake would be a great thing for this particular movie. Sure, 1997's sequel was practically a remake itself, but the less said about that cinematic monstrosity, the better!
Gerard Butler seems like a brilliant choice to replace Russell, so I hope that rumour is proved correct. He's undoubtedly in good shape (as 300 proved) and has Kurt's grizzled look already.
Len Wiseman could be the weak link here, but technically his films have been a lot of fun so far. The Underworld films were stylishly shot and Die Hard 4.0 was proficiently done, so I'm sure Escape will atleast look great. I just hope he can get that pervasive sense of dread just right, and coax great performances from whoever he casts.
The original's plot will be retained, wherein anti-hero Snake Plissken is injected with a poison and told he'll be given the antidote after he rescues the U.S President from New York City, which is now a maximum security prison.
Kurt Russell starred as Snake in the original, as well as the ill-received sequel Escape From L.A in 1997. Gerard Butler (300) is hotly tipped to takeover from Russell for Wiseman's film.
Ain't It Cool News recently reviewed the script to Wiseman's remake, giving it a very favourable critique. All the essential elements are there; but either improved, updated, or expanded upon (we actually see the Air Force One crash in NYC, something the original's budget coudn't stretch to.)
I really like Escape From New York, but I've always had problems with it. Kurt Russell was great, the nihilistic tone is great, Carpenter's score is iconic and the premise is wonderful pulp sci-fi... but it just begins to lose momentum half-way through. I actually grow bored once Isaac Hayes turns up as The Duke, and the finale always disappointed me.
So, I actually think a remake would be a great thing for this particular movie. Sure, 1997's sequel was practically a remake itself, but the less said about that cinematic monstrosity, the better!
Gerard Butler seems like a brilliant choice to replace Russell, so I hope that rumour is proved correct. He's undoubtedly in good shape (as 300 proved) and has Kurt's grizzled look already.
Len Wiseman could be the weak link here, but technically his films have been a lot of fun so far. The Underworld films were stylishly shot and Die Hard 4.0 was proficiently done, so I'm sure Escape will atleast look great. I just hope he can get that pervasive sense of dread just right, and coax great performances from whoever he casts.
